gautschi



2 k 8 e h S m e e h S 2 L 0 SM B UL m M U AM H m d 0 M O W No. 476,458. Patented June 7, 1892.

I'llllll Illlll In MW mu UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. GAUTSCI-H, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO HENRY GAUTSCHI & SONS, OF SAME PLACE.

MUSICAL BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 476,458, dated June '7, 1892.

Application filed February 20, 1892. Serial No. 422,179. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. GAUTsoHI, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates in general to musical boxes provided with one or more complemental combs and a pin-barrel; and it relates more particularly to certain mechanism for actuating or driving the pin-barrel of a musical box.

The principal objects of my invention are, first, to provide a musical box with driving or actuating mechanism that cannot be readily damaged or injured by careless or excessive winding, and, second, to dispense with the main or driving spring and to provide a musical box with an e'l'licient, compact, and durable air or pneumatic motor for actuating or driving the pin-barrel thereof.

My invention consists of a musical box having a com plemental comb and a pin-barrel and provided with a pneumatic motor and its accessories for driving or actuating the pinbarrel.

My invention further consists of a musical box having a pin-barrel and its complemental comb and with a cylinder, a piston, a drum, and cord connected with said piston, pawland-ratchet connections interposed between said piston and pin-barrel, and means for winding said cord on the drum.

My invention further consists of a musical box having a pin-barrel and its complemental comb and with an air-reservoir, a cylinder in communication with the reservoir, a piston in the cylinder, a drum, and cord connected with the piston, pawl-and-ratchet connections interposed between the drum and pin-barrel, and means for winding the cord on the drum; and my invention further consists of the improvements in musical boxes hereinafter described and claimed.

The nature and features of my invention will be more fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, and in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the bed-plate and its accessories of a musical box embodying features of my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly in section, on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, showing the air-reservoir, the piston and cylinder, and the cord operated by the piston for propelling the pin-barrel. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the under side of the bed-plate, showing the drum and cord interposed between the piston and pin-barrel. Fig. 4 is an elevation, partly in section, on the line 4: 4 of Fig. 1, showing the pin-barrel and its actuating mechanism; and Fig. 5 is asection on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, showing the paWl-and-ratchet connections and drum and cord interposed between the pin-barrel and piston.

In the drawings, A is a bed-plate adapted to be supported upon the bottom or base a of a housing or case (not shown) and provided with apertures A, A and A for purposes to be presently fully described. B is a pin-barrel rotatably supported in the aperture A by means of brackets I), carried by the bed-plate A and provided with radial pins or studs adapted to contact with and vibrate the respective teeth of a comb B, suitably supported above the bed-plate A.

O is a counter-shaft rotatably supported in brackets 0, depending from the under side of the bed-plate A and provided with a key 0 or other suitable means for permitting of its manual rotation'in one direction, for a purpose to be presently fully described.

I) is an air-reservoir passing through the aperture A and located above and below the base-plate A, as shown in Fig. 2. The extremity of this reservoir located above the base-plate A is provided with a valve (1 for permitting of the introduction of air under pressure by means of a pump or other preferred apparatus, (not shown,) and the extremity of this reservoir located beneath the base-plate A forms a cylinder E.

F is a piston-rod provided at one extremity thereof with a piston f and at the other extremity thereof with a pulley f 9 is a drum provided with a ratchet-wheel g and keyed or otherwise connected with the counter-shaft (J.

IL is a cord passing over the pulley f 2 and guide-roller f and having one end attached to the bed-plate A and the other end adapted to be wound on and off of the drum g, so that the cord may be wound onto the drum g by rotating the shaft 0 by means of the key 0, and this motion of the cord 7L causes the piston f to be shifted into the cylinder E, thus compressing the air in the reservoirD. The air compressed in the cylinders D and E tends to force the piston f out of the cylinder E, thus causing the cord h to be unwound from the drum g, whereby the shaft 0 is rotated.

5 is a gear-wheel loosely mounted upon the counter-shaft O and provided with a springpawl t, engaging the teeth of the ratchetwheel g, so that the drum g drives the wheel t' when the drum 9 is rotated by the unwinding of the cord h and revolves independently thereof when the cord is being wound onto the drum 9 by means of the key 0.

It may be remarked that in some instances the drum g and ratchet-wheel g maybe loose on the shaft 0 and the gear-wheel 2 may be keyed to the shaft O. In such instance the key 0 must of course be adapted to rotate the drum g instead of the shaft O. However, preference is given to the construction hereiubefore described, and illustrated in the drawings. The wheel 2', extending through the aperture A in the bed-plate A, meshes with a pinion 70, adapted to drive the pin-barrel B through the instrumentality of the wheels and 70 and pin k The speed or velocity of rotation of the pinbarrel 1; is controlled by means of a suitable fly-wheel or fan or speed governor L, actuated by means of the pinion through the instrumentality of suitable gearing M.

The mode of operation of the hereinabovedescribed apparatus is as follows: The musical box may be caused to play by first coinpressing air in the reservoir D by means of the key 0', drum g, cord h, piston-rod F, and piston f without shifting the pin-barrel B, in the manner hereinabove described and then permitting the air previously compressed in the reservoir D to expand and force the piston f outward to cause the cord h to be unwound from the drum g and to effect the rotation of the pin-barrel B through the instrumentality of the pawl-and-ratc het connection, gear-wheel 2', pinion 7c, and driving mechanism 70', k and 70 in the manner hereinbefore explained. It will of course be understood that the speed of rotation of the pinbarrel B is controlled and regulated by the speed-governor or fly-wheel or fan L. In some instances an additional supply of compressed air may be introduced into the reservoir D by means of the valve d; but in most instances the supply of compressed air formed bv the movement of the piston f into the cylinder E will be sufficient for the intended purpose.

Having thus described the nature and objects of .my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. A musical box having a pin-barrel and its accessories and provided with a'cylinder, a piston, a drum and cord connected with the piston, pawl-and-ratchet connections interposed between the drum and pin-barrel, and means for winding the cord on the drum, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A musical box having a pin-barrel and its accessories and provided with a cylinder, a piston, means for forcing the piston into the cylinder to compress air therein, and gearing interposed between said piston and pinbarrel, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A musical box having a pin-barrel and its accessories and provided with a cylinder, a piston working in the cylinder, a drum and cord connected with the piston, pawl-andratchet connections between the piston and pin-barrel, and means for winding the cord on the drum, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. A musical box having a pin-barrel and its complemental comb and provided with a compressed-air reservoir, a cylinder in communication with the reservoir, a piston in the cylinder, a drum and cord connected with the piston, pawl-and-ratchet connections interposed between the drum and pin-barrel, and

means for winding the cord on the drum, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, in a musical box, of a pin-barrel, a drum, pawl-aud-ratchet connections between the drum and pin-barrel, a cylinder, a piston provided with a piston-rod having a pulley journaled thereto, a cord passing over the pulley and having one end thereof attached to a fixed member and having the other end thereof adapted to be wound on and off of the drum, and means for winding the cord onto the drum, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination, in a musical box, of a pin-barrel, a reservoir, a cylinder in comm unication with the reservoir and provided with a piston, a drum and cord adapted to force the piston into the cylinder to compress air in the reservoir and to be rotated by the subsequent movement of the piston due to expansion of the compressed air, a valve in the reservoir for the admission of additional supplies of air, pawl-and-ratchct connections interposed between the drum and pin-barrel, and means for winding the cord on the drum, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY A. GAUTSCHI.

Witnesses:

THOMAS M. SMITH, RICHARD O. MAXWELL.

ITO 

